This is a transcript of the Raising Children Network video available at http://raisingchildren.net.au/articles/child_cpr_video.html. It features a St John Ambulance trainer using a dummy child to show how to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on a child. This video is not intended as a substitute for first aid training.
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Melanie McPherson [first aid trainer, St John Ambulance Australia]: In the event that we have to perform CPR on a child, we need to follow the DRABCD action plan and the first step in that plan is to check for danger: to myself, to bystanders and to the casualty.
Onscreen tip: DRABCD = Danger, Response, Airways, Breathing, CPR, Defibrillation.
Once we find out there’s no danger, we now need to go in and try to get a response from the child.
We do that by clapping over their face, ‘Can you hear me? Hello? Squeeze my hands if you can hear me, open your eyes’. There’s no response, so we are presuming this casualty is unconscious. So the first thing we need to do is get on the phone and call for help. So call 000.
Onscreen tip: Call 000 for any emergency
Then what we need to do is have a look into the airway and if there’s something in there, we’ll need to roll them over and then clear out the airway.
We’ll then need to check for breathing, for 10 seconds, look, listen and feel [checks breathing].
If there’s no breathing, we then roll them back on their back, while supporting the neck. So we’ll need to give the child, two rescue breaths, make sure we’re squeezing the nose, slight head tilt, make sure your mouth is covering their mouth. One [gives rescue breath], two [gives rescue breath]. We then need to check for signs of life just briefly.
If there’s no signs of life, we then begin CPR.
Now CPR – what we are actually doing is compressing on the chest to keep the heart pumping, to get the blood to flow up to the brain to keep oxygen up to the brain. I get my hand and put it in the centre of the chest, stabilise yourself from your knees, get over the top and we do 30 compressions to two breaths:
Video transcript
2
[Counting compressions out loud] One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, 10,
11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30.
And then go and give them two breaths: 1 [gives rescue breath], 2 [gives rescue
breath].
Back to the compressions [counting compressions out loud]: One, two, three, four, five,
six, seven, eight, nine, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25,
26, 27, 28, 29, 30.
Two breaths: 1 [gives rescue breath], 2 [gives rescue breath] and we continue doing
that until help arrives or until he shows signs of life.
Now the D on the end of the DRABCD action plan stands for Defibrillation and if it’s
available we can then use it.
In the event that you are working with children, infection control is important. If you are
performing first aid, remember to wear a pair of gloves and use a face shield if
performing resuscitation.
